There's no way around it: Final Fantasy VII Advent Children is fan service. Glorious, beautiful, well-executed fan service. Those who enjoyed Final Fantasy VII (the videogame) and wanted to see the story continue get their wish with this film and an upcoming gaggle of games that transport enthusiasts back to the land of their dreams. Everyone else, do a bit of homework on the back story, then sit back and enjoy one of the most visually engaging CG movies ever.

The story of Advent Children picks up two years after the story of Final Fantasy VII ends. Midgar lays in ruins and now a sickness is creeping through the land. Of course, this means that heroes will be called back to action -- heroes who carry enormous swords, ride the coolest motorcycles on the planet and sport some serious hair.

From beginning to end, the visuals are amazing to behold. Fans of the game will see some familiar cut scenes woven into the action (especially in the very beginning), but for people who have never been exposed to the videogame, there is still a lot of beauty to behold. The imagined world is lush with the detail of both beauty and decay. The characters are amazing looking and animated to an eerie level of realism.

The direct-to-video production of Wonder Woman, released last month from DC and Warner Home Video, is a faithful retelling of the superheroine's traditional origin story, updated for the 21st century with liberal doses of romantic comedy, bloody warfare and classic mythology. If that sounds pretty awesome, it's because it is.

Wonder Woman is an extraordinarily fun animated feature, bolstered by a lively and humorous script and some memorable vocal performances -- Keri Russell and Nathan Fillion in particular. Director Lauren Montgomery has crafted a visually arresting toon, which is surprisingly adult in its depiction of violence and chock full of sexual innuendos. Many of the battle scenes will be too violent for little kids; there are almost as many stabbings and decapitations in the first act of Wonder Woman as there were in all of 300. While you hardly see much blood, the silhouette of a severed head sliding off a dead warrior's body is still too intense for younger viewers (although one strongly suspects this movie was made more for adult males than young girls).

As fun as the epic battle scenes are, Wonder Woman works just as well as a romantic comedy. The relationship between Diana and Steve is a witty battle of the sexes, with Steve nicely representing all of the foibles that one expects from a typical red-blooded American male (albeit one who is also a highly skilled career military man). Steve may get shown up by Diana more often than not, but he never becomes overbearing or piggish. He comes to care about more than just her most noticeable assets. For all of his scene-stealing one-liners, Steve never comes to overshadow the title character. This remains Diana's story all the way.

Wonder Woman is a complex, well-executed film that goes beyond merely doing justice to the classic comic character. It secures her rightful place in the animated DC pantheon, and makes for one of the most entertaining straight-to-DVD releases ever, animated or otherwise.

We likey.

Do you have a favorite straight-to-DVD animated movie that didn't make our list? Leave us your take in the comments.